Canberrans Brendan O’Brien and Angus Dunne are encouraging men to open up to other men.

They are both members of The Men’s Table – “a safe space for men to share and be heard in a confidential and non-judgmental environment, creating a greater sense of belonging, camaraderie and connection”.

Anyone interested in joining a group is invited to a taste tester event, called an Entrée.

The Entrée is limited to 16 people, while monthly meetings are capped at 12.

The next Entrée will be held at Canberra Southern Cross Club, in Jamison on 11 February.

Brendan joined a group in Belconnen in December 2022 after splitting from his wife, for extra support and a sense of community.

“I went along to the Entrée to see what it was all about and liked the idea of it. I’ve been going ever since,” he said.

While he reached out to his friends and mother, Brendan said it was a good opportunity to meet with people he wouldn’t have normally interacted with.

Brendan said his group had formed a close bond.

“We all help each other out anytime anyone needs help,” he said.

“It’s not just on a once-a-month thing. That’s the thing behind these; you form that bond with the same group of guys you grow that trust with and open up more as time goes on.”

Angus joined the Black Mountain group in June 2024, which meets in Ainslie.

He said the catalyst for joining was seeing there were many groups for women to meet and support each other through leadership, but not for men.

“While I had some really great close relationships with my own friends and family members, I found there wasn’t a space in society for men coming together to support men for the sake of whatever they were doing,” Angus said.

“I came across The Men’s Table and thought maybe this will be one of those places. It turned out that it is one of those places.”

Angus said the changes he had seen in his fellow group members over the past six months were how their compassion, empathy and understanding had grown.

“Somebody described our last meeting as ‘it’s the beginning of love or a brotherhood forming’. I think that’s a really wonderful way to look at it,” he said.

“One of the benefits I’m seeing in myself is that it’s almost like building a muscle up to share vulnerably with other men about how am I feeling in life.

“Whether that’s a great thing about a celebration with work or something with my partner, or it’s something tricky my brother is dealing with like mental health, having a hard conversation or a relationship not working.

“I think it’s rare we share vulnerably with people from other walks of life.”

More information on the Belconnen Entrée on 11 February can be found at themenstable.org/entree-act. Another entrée that will be held in Civic in March can also be booked.

For the full list of entrée events across the country visit themenstable.org/get-involved/#attend-entry

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